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The Lincoln University Blue Tigers haven't had a player drafted into the NFL for a long time, writes Tony Hawley with the News Tribune - Missouri Capital City News. In fact, it's been 40 years since the Cincinnati Bengals selected John McDaniel in the eighth round of the 1974 NFL draft. John Scardina was an undrafted free agent in 1987 and the last Lincoln University player to play in the NFL. The story was inspired by draft prospect, Davon Walls, who is a 6'7" defensive lineman with an 84-inch wingspan and a 4.8 second 40-yard dash.
My curiosity obviously slid toward wide receiver John McDaniel, who played four seasons ('74-'77) with the Bengals before concluding his seven-year career in Washington ('78-'80). In 56 games played (and 11) starts with the Bengals, McDaniel posted 26 receptions for 59 yards receiving and a touchdown. When you have Isaac Curtis, Chip Myers, and future Hall of Famer Charlie Joiner at wide receiver -- along with the end of Bob Trumpy's career and the excellent hands of Boobie Clark, your playing time is going to be minimal.
McDaniel left for Washington, where he posted 59 receptions for 934 yards receiving and six touchdowns during his first two seasons as one of Joe Theismann's targets as the team's leading wide receiver (though not receiver overall).
As for Davon Walls, he could be selected on the final day of the 2015 NFL draft -- many are projecting mid-to-late round projections for the defensive lineman. He has a bit of a flag on him as well. Writes Matthew Fairburn of Syracuse.com:
On March 6, 2013, police charged Walls with felony burglary for entering an unlocked campus apartment and walking out with $950 in electronics while teammate Markus Pierce-Brewster waited in the car. The what is clear: Walls was caught on camera leaving the apartment with a 19-inch television, an Xbox and video games. He and Pierce-Brewster pleaded guilty, successfully completed probation and had the charges dropped to misdemeanor trespassing.
The why is still murky. Some say Walls got a raw deal, others call it a dumb mistake by an immature college kid. Everyone agrees a kid from inner city Brooklyn should have known better. The why didn't matter. The incident was the latest in a long line of legal issues for Syracuse players. Shafer, who declined comment for this story, made an example of them, dismissing Walls and Pierce-Brewster from the program a week after charges were filed.